After serving public clients in Southwest Washington for 15 years, San Francisco-based Kennedy/Jenks Consultants Inc. has opened a Vancouver office.
The engineering and environmental firm's new office is at 201 N.E. Park Plaza Drive. Its staff will include seven employees from its Portland office, and there could be room for new hires in 2009.
"Basically, we have a lot of Vancouver-area residents that won't have to drive across the river anymore," said Vice President Travis Tormanen. "We'll bring the jobs home."
The firm's local clients include the cities of Battle Ground, La Center, Vancouver and Washougal, plus Clark Regional Wastewater District, the Port of Vancouver and the town of Yacolt.
Kennedy/Jenks is working with Clark Regional Wastewater District and 10 local agencies to develop a 50-year vision for regional sewer infrastructure, financing and governance.
"We consider Southwest Washington to be on the leading edge of future growth for the Portland-Vancouver metro area," Tormanen said.
The firm has nearly 600 employees at 25 offices in the West and Midwest with annual revenue of $100 million.
"We continue to be profitable and continue to have clients with long-term needs," Tormanen said. "We're choosing to be optimistic about Clark County and about the economy."
With Tormanen, senior personnel in Clark County are Senior Civil Engineer David Brown, Environmental Services Manager Terry Hosaka, Senior Engineer Chuck McDonald, Construction Observer John Allen and Administrative Assistant Carol Juarez.
